Cytokines are signaling molecules between inflammatory cells that play a significant role in the pathogenesis of a disease. Among these cytokines are interleukins (ILs) 17A and 33, and accordingly, the current case-control study sought to investigate the role of each of the two cytokines in the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS). Sixty-eight relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) Iraqi patients and twenty healthy individuals (control group) were enrolled. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits were used to determine serum levels of IL-17A and IL-33. Results revealed that IL-17A and IL-33 levels were significantly higher in MS patients than in controls (14.1 ± 4.5 vs. 7.5 ± 3.8 pg/mL; p < 0.001 and 65.3 ± 16.3 vs. 49.3 ± 20.0 pg/mL; p < 0.001, respectively). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis demonstrated that IL-17A was a very good predictor of MS (area under curve [AUC] = 0.869; 95% CI = 0.779 - 0.960; p < 0.001; cut-off value = 10.2 pg/mL; sensitivity = 80.8%; specificity = 75.0%). A similar prediction was presented by IL-33, but the AUC value was lower (AUC = 0.762; 95% CI = 0.63 - 0.89; p < 0.001; cut-off value = 56.4 pg/mL; sensitivity = 70.6%; specificity = 70.0%). Multinomial logistic regression analysis confirmed the significance of IL-17A and IL-33 in MS risk, and under three models of analysis, the estimated odds ratios for IL-17A (1.50, 1.49 and 1.50, respectively) and IL-33 (1.05, 1.05 and 1.06) were above 1.0. Patients stratified by gender (male and female), expanded disability status scale (EDSS: < 3 and ≥ 3) or medication (pre- and post-medication) showed no significant differences in serum levels of IL-17A and IL-33 for each stratum. However, with regard to response to medication, it was found that responding patients showed significantly higher levels of IL-33 than non-responders (70.9 ± 12.2 vs. 57.2 ± 18.2 pg/mL; p = 0.018). This difference was not observed when considering IL-17A. Pearson correlation analysis between IL-17A and IL-33 revealed that both cytokines were not significantly correlated. In conclusion, the study indicated that IL-17A and IL-33 were up-regulated in serum of MS patients, and this up-regulation was not influenced by age, gender, EDSS or medication status, but the elevated level of IL-33 was more pronounced in patients who responded to medication.
This study was conducted in Animal Resources Department , College of Agriculture to estimate the effect of chemical and biological treatments to improve the nutritive value of poor quality roughages ( corn cobs and wild reed ) . The feeds were treated chemically with 4% NaoH solution ,whereas Aspergillus niger was used to ferment corn cobs and wild reed samples . The chemical analysis showed that protein percentages of corn cobs and wild reed was increased significantly (P<0.05) from 6.05% to 10.51% and 17.70% and from 3.10 %to 6.50% and 9.96% for both chemical and biological treatments respectively. The crude fiber percentages decreased significantly (P<0.05) from 29.19% and 26.10% to 23.60% and 20.10% for chemical treatment and was 20
... Show MoreAdvertising design is one of the arts of communication of various levels and one of the aspects of the fields of design arts, and that the construction of the design environment in the advertising is one of the important entry points in making the recipient feel this environment and feel as if being one of its elements. It is an entrance worthy of study and research and is a problem worth raising according to the following question: - What is the effectiveness achieved in the virtual design environment for digital advertising? The two researchers dealt with the research in three frameworks, the methodological framework which identified (the problem of research, its importance, purpose, limits, and the definition of ter
... Show MoreNatural convection heat transfer is experimentally investigated for laminar air flow in a vertical circular tube by using the boundary condition of constant wall heat flux in the ranges of (RaL) from (1.1*109) to (4.7*109). The experimental set-up was designed for determining the effect of different types of restrictions placed at entry of heated tube in bottom position, on the surface temperature distribution and on the local and average heat transfer coefficients. The apparatus was made with an electrically heated cylinder of a length (900mm) and diameter (30mm). The entry restrictions were included a circular tube of same diameter as the heated cylinder but with lengths of (60cm, 120cm), sharp-edge and
... Show MoreThe topic of the working of the secondary event structure in the embodiment of the film unity is related to the ability to produce a film of controlled events that strengthen each other. The researchers divided the subject topic into an introduction and two sections, as follows: The first section is the event and the action in drama construction wherein the relationship of the dramatic act with the events in general and the secondary event in particular were studied as it has a relationship in a synergistic building of the film unity.
The second section was the patterns of the secondary event in the film wherein the researchers dealt with the patterns, types and functions
... Show MoreIt's for sure that TV or cinematic production requires an effort that is described to be large according to the script , thus we find a production sectors that couldn't fulfill these tasks especially in Iraq for its current challenges , although we found the department of film & television have a large quantity that could be described as big comparing to the Iraqi production sectors , alongside what it does provides to the Iraqi dramatic movement , but the cause that the management of this department is looking for is the quality that osmosis an dramatic & atheistic value , this production quantity that is productions operations frequently is attacked by lagging that came from many reasons that " May or May not " known to the spe
... Show MoreThe research deals with a very important issue that affects women, an important segment of the society. This is because women are the basis of the family and the pillar of the society. Thus, the aim of the research is to examine the level and dimensions of the emotional and existential psychological crisis at the sample of the study. It further aims to investigate the statistical significant difference at the level of (0.05) regarding the feeling of the existential psychological crisis among battered and non-battered women. To reveal the objectives of the study, the researcher applied the existential psychological crisis scale to a sample of (72) women, divided into two groups: (35) battered women, who have been chosen purposefully. Thos
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Uncertainty, the deeply-rooted fact that surrounding the investment environment, especially the stock market which just prices have taken a specific trend until they moved to another one for its up or down. This means that the volatility characteristic of financial market requires the rational investor an argument led towards the adoption of planned acts to gain greater benefit in the goal of wealth maximizing. There is no possibility to achieve this goal without the burden of uncertainty and the risk of systematic fluctuations of investment returns in the financial market after the facts of efficient diversification have pro
... Show MoreThis work describes the enhancement of phenol red decolorization through immobilizing of laccase in chitosan and enzyme recycling. Commercial laccase from white rot fungus, Trametesversicolor (Tvlac), was immobilizedin to freshly prepared chitosan beads by using glutaraldehyde as a cross linker. Characterization of prepared chitosan was confirmed by FTIR and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Tvlac (46.2 U/mL) immobilized into chitosan beads at 0.8 % glutaraldehyde (v/v) within 24 hrs. Synthetic (HBT) and natural (vanillin) mediators were used to enhance dye decolorizoation. It was found that 89 % of phenol red was decolorized by chitosan beads within 180 min. in the absence of enzyme and mediator, while decolorization percenta
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